South Korea-Concerns over meat safety.

SOUTH KOREA-FEARS ON MEAT SAFETY.

A chemical that can cause acute food poisoning has been found in more imported Chinese food products, according to Korean safety authorities.

The Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said it discovered clenbuterol in 13 condensed beef soup products, in concentrations of 0.2 to 7.7 parts per billion. The contaminated shipments weighed 83 tons and came from six Chinese companies, it said. The disclosure came a week after 0.03 ppb of the chemical were found in Chinese-made meat soup in a customs check by the Korean National Veterinary Research and Quarantine Service.

The ministry said it began conducting a full inspection of meat soup after the report by the service. A total of 827 tons of beef soup have been imported from China in 2009, with 331 tons not yet consumed. The ministry plans to inspect it all, and had finished examining 100 tons so far. All Chinese meat soup has been banned for now. Clenbuterol is used to treat breathing disorders, but in food it can cause acute food poisoning. It is sometimes fed to pigs or cows to make them produce leaner meat.